FEATURED AUTHOR: BLUETTE MATTHEY

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Barn burning in a sleepy farming community is a serious enough matter, but a grisly murder or two in a small midwest town is a showstopper. Throw in a serial blackmailer who has his claws in some of the town’s leading citizens and you have one big recipe for disaster. Charlie Simmons, newly sworn in as Shannon’s policeman, takes on the challenge of investigating this cauldron of crimes in stride, untangling one thread after another from the fabric of the town of Shannon to find the simple truth.


Book Details:


Title: Two Murders Too Many


Author: Bluette Matthey


Genre: mystery



Publisher: Blue Shutter Publishing (October 21, 2020)


Print length: 215 pages

On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours

 



LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH BLUETTE MATTHEY

A few of your favorite things: raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . . the gentleness of living in the South of France, fresh croissants, strong black tea . . .
Things you need to throw out: just thinking about it all depresses me . . . what if I have to move it again? Still, as soon as I toss something out it seems I need it the following week.


Things you need in order to write: my books start with a trip to a place that provides an interesting setting, pictures of said place, and quiet time to brood on the plot and characters.
Things that hamper your writing: stress is a big obstacle to writing, as well as nagging minutiae that distract.


Things you love about writing: I love being a part of the process that results in the birth of a book with all its characters. I also enjoy sharing things I discover with my readers, like the history and background I bring to my books.
Things you hate about writing: proofreading a book 20 times and STILL finding a typo!


Things you love about where you live: Beziers, France is the second oldest city in France and a treasure trove of historical sites, fifteen minutes from the Mediterranean, and has loads of places to walk and explore.
Things that make you want to move: I really detest the (inhuman) bullfights that take place here.


Things you never want to run out of: cat litter; Taylor’s of Harrogate Yorkshire Gold Black Tea; Vitamin D3 K2.
Things you wish you’d never bought: snowshoes; classical guitar; 5-pound box of See’s Chocolates.


Favorite foods: a great hamburger or steak frites!
Things that make you want to throw up: Kimchi.

Favorite music: I love the French chanteurs and chanteuses, notably Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour.
Music that make your ears bleed: punk rock, hip hop.

Favorite beverage: pure water.

Something that gives you a pickle face: cheap wine.

Favorite smell: the lavender fields of Provence.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Kimchi.

Something you’re really good at: creating (books, films, food . . .)

Something you’re really bad at: slow, methodical analysis.


Last best thing you ate: a passionflower-and-coconut confection from a patisserie up the street.

Last thing you regret eating: take-out pizza.

Things you always put in your books: a role for a cat, no matter how small.

Things you never put in your books: steamy sex scenes.

Favorite places you’ve been: perched villages in Provence; Florence, Italy; Abruzzo, Italy; all of Switzerland.

Places you never want to go to again: Atlanta, Georgia.

Favorite things to do: snorkel, travel to new places, enjoy time with my family.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: fly anywhere in economy.

Things that make you happy: a road trip to someplace new.

Things that drive you crazy: having to clean up after adults.

Best thing you’ve ever done: raised three wonderful sons!

Biggest mistake: sometimes I wonder if we really make mistakes. We do things (sometimes dumb things) that we regret but, ultimately, these mistakes are woven into who we are.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I hiked into the remote Hermitage of San Bartolomeo near Roccamorice, Abruzzo, Italy, aware I was the only human around for miles as I trekked through the Majella National Park. Animal scat along the trail reminded me there were bears, wolves, and other beasts present.

Something you chickened out from doing: trying out for cheerleader in high school.

The last thing you did for the first time: rode an electric scooter around Paris.

Something you’ll never do again: hot air balloon ride . . . hated the crash landing!




EXCERPT FROM TWO MURDERS TOO MANY

Blanche Gruman sprawled on the park bench in front of the Presbyterian Church Monday enjoying the afternoon sun, her long, tanned legs stretched out on the sidewalk in front of the bench. She looked serene, with her face turned sunward, eyes protected by aviator sunglasses. Her blonde hair was almost white, bleached by the sun, and she wore it long and loose.

“Afternoon, Blanche,” Charlie said as he made his way toward town hall.

Blanche turned her head to see who had spoken. “Well, hey, Charlie!” she replied. She quickly sat up, pulling her bare legs primly under the edge of the bench. It was a lady-like move; just what you would expect from Blanche. A broad smile, showing perfect pearl-white teeth lit up her face.

Blanche Gruman owned and operated a successful hair salon in town. For Shannon, it was an exclusive salon. Blanche was an excellent cutter and stylist, and her flamboyant but tasteful sense of style attracted the cream of Shannon’s women to her salon, as well as some of the more prominent men. She had expanded her business over the course of a decade, hiring additional staff, but she was the queen bee, and closely guarded her select clientele.

Blanche had never married, though she’d had a fairly constant parade of suitors. Rumor had it that when someone had once asked her why she had never married she had flippantly replied, “Why marry one man when I can make so many happy?” Whether or not this was true, it was generally agreed that Blanche had a less traditional approach to relationships with men than her female contemporaries, and it was speculated that many of her female devotees who religiously came to Blanche for hair treatment did so as a means of keeping an eye on her latest paramour, primarily to make sure it wasn’t a wayfaring husband.

“You look mighty pleased with yourself,” Charlie said. He stood in front of her, blocking the sun from her eyes. She removed her sunglasses, hooking one of the templates on the V-neck of a snug knit top that accented her generous curves.

“It’s a great day to celebrate life,” she told him, “and that’s just what I’m doing.” Clearly, she was enjoying herself.

Charlie changed the subject. “You hear about what happened to Otto Hilty the other night?”

His question soured Blanche’s mood noticeably. Her voice took on a hard edge when she responded. “That SOB …” she began. “I don’t truck with what happened to Otto,” she said, “but I’ll not shed any tears for him.” She put her sunglasses on and stood, facing Charlie. “Like I said … it’s a great day to celebrate.” She walked off leaving Charlie standing, literally, with his mouth agape.

***

Excerpt from Two Murders Too Many by Bluette Matthey.  Copyright 2020 by Bluette Matthey. Reproduced with permission from Bluette Matthey. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Bluette Matthey grew up in a small Midwestern town, reading mysteries and being frightened to death as a child watching Alfred Hitchcock on Friday nights.  The result: Two Murders Too Many, Bluette’s latest mystery.

Bluette Matthey loves to travel as well as she likes a good mystery. She combines her two passions in her Hardy Durkin Travel Mystery Series, with her protagonist, trekker Hardy Durkin, taking readers to Corsica, Dalmatia, Abruzzo, Italy, The Black Forest, Germany, and the Swiss Engadine Valley. As always, Hardy is never far from a murder or two and invariably finds the key to resolving the crimes.

Matthey has a boots-on-the-ground approach to her writing and insists on visiting (and often hiking) each locale featured in her books, focusing on the region’s history, culture, and food as backdrop for her mysteries. Her treks mimic less strenuous versions than those of her protagonist, Hardy.

Bluette has also written the narrative for and developed a travel app for the South of France, Potty Poche. The app is written in five languages, focuses on must-see destinations in Provence and the Languedoc-Roussillon areas of Southern France, and serves as a public toilet navigator for the locations visited on the app, as well.

Bluette lives in Béziers in the South of France with her husband and two demanding cats. Béziers is France’s second oldest city, with history dating back to 500 BC, and the setting of Bluette’s next Hardy Durkin mystery, Homicide Hérault.


Connect with Bluette:
Website  |  Blog   |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

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FEATURED AUTHOR: GEORGE MILTON

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

What would you do if you had a revolutionary resource to help you become a successful leader, reach your goals, make your life better and propel you to become all that you are meant to be? Sounds impossible? Well, it’s not! In the “impossible” is the “possible.” And if you want the possibility of becoming successful, U. S. Army Retired Colonel, George Milton’s book, Failure Is Not The Problem, It’s The Beginning Of Your Success is a must read. Most leadership books discuss how to achieve success only, but in life we all fail sometimes. If you want to succeed you must walk through the doorway of this life changing resource, failure. In his amazing book he addresses the challenge of adversity and how failure can motivate you, focus you, and change your life for the better. His inspiring story of growth from a difficult youth to a distinguished career Army combat officer, he shares that it was only possible because he changed his attitude. Not only does he reveal personal triumphs and defeats, he demonstrates in12 easy to follow steps, how you can transform your mindset from negative to positive regarding failure and in the process become successful.

Book Details

Title: Failure Is Not the Problem, It’s the Beginning Of Your Success
Author: George Milton

Genre: self-help

Publisher: Marissa F. Cohen (March 7, 2020)

Print length: 150 pages

 

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH GEORGE MILTON

Things you need in order to write: a quiet place.
Things that hamper your writing: writers block and too much noise. 


Things you love about writing: it allows me to share what I’ve learn over many years.
Things you hate about writing: I sometimes think writing has to be perfect.

Easiest thing about being a writer: coming up with ideas to write about.

Hardest thing about being a writer: trying to get all the details on paper. 


Things you love about where you live: the ability to get to the beach within an hour.
Things that make you want to move: I want to live in Cali.


Things you never want to run out of: love for people.
Things you wish you’d never bought: a fake diamond ring off a street vendor. 


Words that describe you: kind, generous, loving, trustworthy, gentle, motivated, energized.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: too direct.

Favorite foods: Korean foods.
Things that make you want to throw up: watermelon.  

Favorite music: classical.
Music that make your ears bleed: heavy metal.

Favorite smell: lavender.

Something that makes you hold your nose: skunk.

Something you’re really good at: motivating people.

Something you’re really bad at: forgiving myself or being too hard on myself. 


Something you wish you could do: play the piano.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: giving up on playing the piano.

Last best thing you ate: Korean food.

Last thing you regret eating: a rotten tomato off the vine from the garden.

Things you’d walk a mile for: TRUE LOVE!
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: rude people.

Things you always put in your books: all topics regarding failure but, in a positive way.

Things you never put in your books: things that would hurt someone’s feelings intentionally.

Favorite things to do: read, workout, swim, dance, talk, teach, mentor, train on leadership.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: watching a scary movie.

Things that make you happy: motivational speaking, coaching, mentoring, talking to people. 

Things that drive you crazy: rudeness.


Proudest moment: as a single dad, raising three amazing kids.
Most embarrassing moment: a girlfriend threw a cup of ice water in my face in front of several of my friends as they all laughed.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: becoming an Army paratrooper. 

Something you chickened out from doing: drinking spit from a cup that others spat in to pledge a fraternity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

George Milton is the CEO of Failure Is Not The Problem, LLC, a consulting company that specializes in leadership development and training, life coaching, and motivational speaking. He is a United States Army Retired, Colonel who has over 30 years of experience as an internationally known Communicator, Coach, Mentor, Trainer Intuitive Counselor, Teacher, Inspirational Speaker, TV Co-Host and Author. George connects with people of all ages on all levels. He is a former University Assistant Professor who has extensive experience working with the federal government but also has a tremendous background in working within city government and community organizations. In his role as a Senior Staff Officer at European Command in Stuttgart, Germany he routinely briefed and spoke with Ambassadors. He has experience speaking to and training foreign government officials and delivering oration to foreign public entities. As the Division Chief of the Civil Partnership Division, at European Command, he led on an annual basis, a group of staff members to Oxford University, in Oxford, England on a two week trip to study and learn how to properly” Partner” with civilian agencies in support of military organizations.

George Milton’s straight-from-the-heart, passion and high-energy, motivates audiences to step beyond their limitations and into their greatness in many ways. Over the past decade, George has used his role from keynote speaker to Master Trainer, creating the kind of workshop learning experience that got him committed to personal-and-professional development. His charisma, warmth and humor have transformed ordinary people into extraordinary achievers by using his own life, and his in-depth study of others’ challenges, to build an understanding of what works, what doesn’t work, and why.

He is a Certified Trainer in Success Principles, successfully completing the competency examination, and adoption of the Canfield Code of Ethics.

Connect with George:
Website  |  Facebook

Buy the book:
Amazon 

FEATURED AUTHOR: M.E. BROWNING

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Death is one click away when a string of murders rocks a small Colorado town in the first mesmerizing novel in M. E. Browning’s A Jo Wyatt Mystery series.



Echo Valley, Colorado, is a place where the natural beauty of a stunning river valley meets a budding hipster urbanity. But when an internet stalker is revealed to be a cold-blooded killer in real life the peaceful community is rocked to its core.



It should have been an open-and-shut case: the suicide of Tye Horton, the designer of a cutting-edge video game. But Detective Jo Wyatt is immediately suspicious of Quinn Kirkwood, who reported the death. When Quinn reveals an internet stalker is terrorizing her, Jo is skeptical. Doubts aside, she delves into the claim and uncovers a link that ties Quinn to a small group of beta-testers who had worked with Horton. When a second member of the group dies in a car accident, Jo’s investigation leads her to the father of a young man who had killed himself a year earlier. But there’s more to this case than a suicide, and as Jo unearths the layers, a more sinister pattern begins to emerge–one driven by desperation, shame, and a single-minded drive for revenge.



As Jo closes in, she edges ever closer to the shattering truth–and a deadly showdown that will put her to the ultimate test.

Book Details:

Title: Shadow Ridge

Author: M.E. Browning

Genre: mystery

Series: A Jo Wyatt Mystery

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (October 6, 2020)

Print length: 296 pages

On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours




LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH M.E. BROWNING

A few of your favorite things: my wedding ring, Celtic harp, tea and book collections.
Things you need to throw out: Marie Kondo’s book. 


Things you need in order to write: tea, a mechanical pencil, a narrow-ruled notebook, computer, and Scrivener software.
Things that hamper your writing: social media. 


Things you love about writing: I can do it anywhere and make as many revisions as I want.
Things you hate about writing: when I can’t find the right word.


Things you never want to run out of: patience and tea.
Things you wish you’d never bought: a bread machine.


Favorite foods: sushi, chicken pot pie, French Onion Soup, fruitcake, baklava.
Things that make you want to throw up: mushrooms and blue cheese.

Favorite music: Celtic, classical, film soundtracks, anything by Alice in Chains.
Music that make your ears bleed: brass bands.

Favorite beverage: tea or a French 75 cocktail.

Something that gives you a pickle face: apple cider vinegar.

Favorite smell: all the mingled scents of Thanksgiving dinner.

Something that makes you hold your nose: the science experiment I recently found in the back of my refrigerator.

Something you’re really good at: scuba diving.
Something you’re really bad at: tennis.

Something you like to do: cycle.
Something you wish you’d never done: crash my road bike.

People you consider as heroes: people who go out of their way to be kind to someone else
.
People with a big L on their foreheads: bullies.



Last best thing you ate: lobster bisque.

Last thing you regret eating: an overcooked steak.

Things you’d walk a mile for: just about anything, I love to walk.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: spiders.

Things you always put in your books: determined women, difficult decisions, devious deeds.

Things you never put in your books: real events or people.

Favorite places you’ve been: Quebec City, Canada; Durham, England; Garden of the Gods, Colorado; Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman; any place with a hiking trail.

Places you never want to go to again: jail.

Things that make you happy: hiking, good books, better friends, sounds of nature.

Things that drive you crazy: traffic, long lines, loud icemakers that drop cubes in the middle of the night.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: landed on and been catapulted off an aircraft carrier.

Something you chickened out from doing: skydiving.

The last thing you did for the first time: had an essay published in Mystery Scene Magazine.

Something you’ll never do again: talk myself out of trying something new.


EXCERPT FROM SHADOW RIDGE

Chapter One

Detective Jo Wyatt stood at the edge of the doorway of the converted garage and scanned the scene for threats. She’d have the chance to absorb the details later, but even at a glance, it was obvious the occupant of the chair in front of the flickering television wouldn’t benefit from her first-aid training. The stains on the ceiling from the gun blast confirmed that.

Officer Cameron Finch stood on the other side of the sorry concrete slab that served as an entrance. “Ready?”

The only place hidden from view was the bathroom, and the chance of someone hiding there was infinitesimal, but someone always won the lottery. Today wasn’t the day to test the odds. Not when she was dressed for court and without her vest.

She pushed the door open wider. Her eyes and handgun moved in tandem as she swept the room.

A mattress on the floor served as a bed. Stacks of clothes took the place of a real closet. A dorm-sized fridge with a hot plate on top of it made up the kitchen.

Jo avoided the well-worn paths in the carpet and silently approached the bathroom. Its door stood slightly ajar, creating enough space for her to peer through the crack. Never lowering her gun, she used her foot to widen the gap.

No intruder. Just a water-spotted shower stall and a stained toilet with the seat up. A stick propped open the narrow ventilation window above the shower. Too small for even the tiniest child, but an open invitation to heat-seeking raccoons.

“Bathroom’s clear.” She holstered her gun. The cut of her wool blazer fell forward and did its best to hide the bulge of her Glock, but an observant person could tell she was armed. One of the drawbacks of having a waist.

She picked her way across the main room, staying close to the walls to avoid trampling any evidence. A flame licked the edges of the television screen—one of those mood DVDs of a fireplace but devoid of sound. It filled the space with an eerie flicker that did little to lighten the gathering dusk.

Sidestepping a cat bowl filled with water, she stopped in front of the body and pulled a set of latex gloves from her trouser pocket.

“Really?” Cameron asked.

Jo snapped them into place, then pressed two fingers against the victim’s neck in a futile search for a pulse—a completely unnecessary act that became an issue only if a defense attorney wanted to make an officer look like an idiot on the stand for not checking.

The dead man reclined in a high-backed gray chair that appeared to have built-in speakers. In the vee of his legs, a Remington 870 shotgun rested against his right thigh, the stock’s butt buried in the dirty shag carpet. On the far side, a toppled bottle of whiskey and a tumbler sat on a metal TV tray next to a long-stemmed pipe.

“Who called it in?” Jo asked.

“Quinn Kirkwood. I told her to stay in her car until we figured out what was going on.”

Jo retraced her steps to the threshold, seeking a respite from the stench of death.

A petite woman stood at the edge of the driveway, pointedly looking away from the door. “Is he okay?”

So much for staying in the car. “Let’s talk over here.” Not giving the other woman the opportunity to resist, Jo grabbed her elbow and guided her to the illuminated porch of the main house, where the overhang would protect them from the softly falling snow.

“He’s inside, isn’t he?” Quinn pulled the drawstring of her sweat shirt until the hood puckered around her neck. “He’s dead.” It should have been a question, but wasn’t. Jo’s radar pinged.

“I’m sorry.” Jo brushed errant flakes from a dilapidated wicker chair and moved it forward for her. “Is there someone I can call for you?”

She shook her head.

“How well did you know—”

“Tye. His name is—was—Tye Horton.” Quinn played with the tab of her hood string, picking at the plastic that kept the ends from fraying.

Jo remained quiet, digesting the younger woman’s unease. She was all angles: sharp shoulders, high cheekbones, blunt-cut dark hair, and canted eyes that looked blue in the open but faded to grey here in the shadows.

A pile of snow slid from a bowed cottonwood branch and landed with a dull plop. The silence broken, Quinn continued to fill it. “We have a couple classes together up at the college. He missed class. I came over to see why.”

“Does he often cut class?”

“He didn’t cut class,” she said sharply. “He missed it.” She pulled out her cellphone. “The project was due today. I should tell the others.”

What would she tell them? She hadn’t asked any questions. The pinging in Jo's head grew louder. “Did you go inside before the officer got here?” She looked at the woman’s shoes. Converse high-tops. Distinctive tread.

Quinn launched out of her seat, sending it crashing into the porch rail. “I called you guys, remember?”

“It’s a simple yes or no.”

The smaller woman advanced and Jo fought the impulse to shove her back. “No, Officer—”

“Detective Wyatt.”

The top of Quinn’s head barely reached Jo’s chin. “Tye and I were classmates with a project due, Detective. I called him, he didn’t answer. I texted him, he didn’t respond. He didn’t show up for the game last night, which meant something was wrong. He never missed a game.”

Football. Last night Jo had pulled on her uniform and worked an overtime shift at the Sunday night game. Despite the plunging temperatures, the small college stadium had been filled to capacity.

“Did you check on him afterward?” Jo asked.

“No.” Color brightened Quinn’s pale cheeks. “By the time the game ended, it was too late. After he missed class today, I came straight over. Called the police. Here we are. Now, can I go?”

“Was Tye having any problems lately?”

“Problems?”

“With school? Friends?”

“I shared a class with him.”

Another dodge. “You knew he wasn’t at the game.”

“I figured he was finishing up his end of the project. Are we done? I’ve got class tonight.”

“I need to see your identification before you leave.”

“Un-fucking-believable.” Quinn jammed her hand into her jacket pocket and removed an old-fashioned leather coin purse. Pinching the top, she drew out her driver’s license and practically threw it at Jo.

“I’m sure you understand. Whenever there is a death, we have to treat it as a crime until we determine otherwise.”

The air left Quinn in a huff of frost. “I’m sorry. I’m just…” She dipped her face but not before Jo saw the glint of tears. “I’m just going to miss him. He was nice. I don’t have a lot of friends in Echo Valley.”

“Were the two of you dating?”

The sharpness returned to her features. “Not my type.”

“Do you know if he was in a relationship?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Would you know?”

Cameron joined the women on the porch and extended his hand to Quinn. “I’m Sergeant Finch.”

Jo sucked in her breath, and covered it with a cough. The promotional memo hadn’t been posted even a day yet.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” Cameron added.

Quinn crossed her arms, whether for warmth or for comfort, Jo couldn’t tell. “Your badge says Officer. Aren’t sergeants supposed to have stripes or something?”

“It’s official next week.”

“So. Really just an officer.”

Jo bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Served him right for acting like an ass.

“I wouldn’t say just.” Cameron hooked his thumb in his gun belt.

“Of course you wouldn’t.” Quinn drew a deep breath and let it out as if she feared it might be her last. “What happened?” she finally asked.

Jo spoke before Cameron could answer. “That’s what we’re here to find out.” She opened her notebook.

Quinn sized up the two officers like a child trying to decide which parent to ask, and settled on Cameron. “Will you get me the laptop that’s inside? It’s got our school project on it.”

“I’m sorry,” Jo answered. “But until we process the scene, everything needs to stay put.”

Quinn sought confirmation from Cameron. “Really?”

Jo shot him a look she hoped conveyed the slow torturous death he’d suffer if he contradicted her and compromised the scene.

Cameron placed his hand on Quinn’s forearm. “I’m certain it won’t take long and I’ll personally deliver it to you as soon as I can.”

“Thanks.” She shook off his hand and addressed Jo. “Am I free to go?”

Prickly thing. Jo handed Quinn’s license back to her. “I’m truly sorry about your friend. May I call you later if I have any questions?”

Cameron stepped closer, all earnestness and concern. “It would be very helpful to the investigation when she realizes she forgot to ask you something.”

The coin purse snapped shut. “Sure. Whatever.”

“Thank you,” Jo said, then added, “Be careful.”

Quinn jerked. “What?”

The wind had picked up, and waves of snow blew across the walkway. Jo pointed toward the street. “The temperature drops any lower and it’ll start to ice up. Be careful. The roads are going to be slick.”

Quinn bobbed her head. Hunched against the cold, she climbed into her bright yellow Mini Cooper.

Snow had collected on the bumper and Jo noted the plate. She’d seen the car around town, its brilliant color and tiny chassis a contrast to the trucks and four-wheel-drive SUVs most locals drove.

The car crunched down the driveway. Jo returned to the task at hand, ignoring Cameron as he followed her.

Two buildings—the main residence and the converted garage—stood at the center of the property. The driveway dumped out onto an alley and the hum of downtown carried across the crisp air. Dogs barked. Cars slowed and accelerated at the nearby stop sign, their engines straining and tires chewing into the slushed snow. A sagging chain-link fence ringed the property, pushed and pulled by a scraggly hedge.

Built in the days when a garage housed only a car and not the detritus of life, the building was barely larger than a tack room. A small walkway separated the dwellings. She followed the path around the exterior of the garage.

Eaves kept snow off the paint-glued windowsill on the far side of the outbuilding. Rambling rosebushes in need of pruning stretched skeletal fingers along the wall. Jo swept the bony branches aside. A thorn snagged the shoulder of her blazer.

She studied the ground. Snow both helped and hindered officers. In foot pursuits, it revealed a suspect’s path. But the more time separated an incident from its investigation, the more it hid tracks. Destroyed clues. This latest snow had started in the early hours of the morning, gently erasing the valley’s grime and secrets and creating a clean slate. Tye could have been dead for hours. The snow told her nothing.

As she stood again at the door, not even the cold at her back could erase the smell of blood. The last of the evening’s light battled its way through the dirty window, failing to brighten the dark scene in front of her.

She tried not to let the body distract her from cataloging the room. Echo Valley didn’t have violent deaths often. In her twelve years on the department, she’d investigated only two homicides, one as an officer, the second as a detective. Fatal crashes, hunting accidents, Darwin Award-worthy stupidity, sure, but murder? That was the leap year of crimes and only happened once every four years or so.

Cameron joined her on the threshold and they stood shoulder to shoulder. He had a shock of thick brown hair that begged to be touched, and eyes that said he’d let you. “Why so quiet, Jo-elle?”

The use of her nickname surprised her. Only two people had ever called her that and Cameron hadn’t used it in a long time. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

“What’s to miss? Guy blew his brains out.”

“It’s rarely that simple.”

“Not everything needs to be complicated.” He laughed. The boyishness of it had always charmed her with its enthusiasm. Now it simply sounded dismissive. Perhaps it always had been, but she’d been too in love to notice. “Hey, you got plans tonight?” He tried to sound innocent. She had learned that voice.

“Other than this? I don’t see as that’s any of your business.”

“Of course it’s my business. You’re still my wife.” He stared into the distance as he said it. A splinter of sun pierced the dark clouds and bled across his unguarded expression.

Yearning.

Jo stood as if on ice, afraid to move lest she lose her balance.

He seemed to wake up, and after a deep breath, he surveyed the room. “The landlord is going to be looking for a new tenant. You should give him your name. It’s got to be better than living with your old man.”

Fissures formed beneath her and it took her two blinks before she recovered her footing.

“I need to get my camera. I’ll be right back.”

She left him at the door. The December chill wormed through her wool dress slacks as she trudged the half block to her car. She drew breath after breath of the searing chill deep into her lungs to replace the hurt, the anger, the self-recriminations that burned her. She sat in the passenger seat and picked up the radio mic. She wasn’t ready to face Cameron. Not yet.

To buy herself some time, she ran a local warrant check on Quinn. Something wasn’t quite right about the woman. A warrant might explain things.

Dispatch confirmed Quinn’s address, but had nothing to add.

Jo grabbed her camera bag and crime scene kit and schlepped back to the scene, prioritizing her actions as she went. She’d need to snag another detective. Interrupt a judge’s dinner to get a search warrant. Swab the victim’s hands for gunshot residue. Try to confirm his identification. Hopefully, the person in the front house would return soon so Jo could start collecting background on the deceased. Take overview photos of the exterior first. Inside there’d be lights. Then evidence. Identify it. Bag it. Book it.

She reached the door before she ticked through all the tasks. Cameron was circling the chair.

Jo stopped on the threshold, stunned.

“No wonder they didn’t promote you.” Cameron peered into the exposed cranium. “If you can’t tell this is a suicide, you got no business being a cop—let alone a detective.”

“Get out.”

“We’re not home, sweetie. You can’t order me out here.”

“Actually, I can. Detective, remember? This is my scene and you’re contaminating it.”

He laughed. “Sergeant outranks detective.”

“I think it’s already been established that you’re not sporting stripes.”

“Yet. Couple more days.”

Three. Three days until he started wearing the stripes that should have been hers. Three days until he outranked her. Three. Damn. Days. “And until then, Officer Finch.” With exaggerated care, she took out her notebook and started writing.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a note of the path you’ve taken. Try to retrace your steps. I’d hate to have to say how badly you mucked things up.” She paused for effect. “You getting promoted and all.”

“You’re such a bitch.”

“Is that how you talk to your wife?”

He picked up the overturned bottle on the TV tray. “Johnnie Walker Gold.” He sniffed the premium Scotch whisky. “And here I would have pegged him for a Jack fan, at best.” Cameron tipped the bottle back into place and retraced his steps.

The latex gloves did nothing to warm her fingers, and Jo shoved her hands in her pockets. Had he changed or had she? “When did you become such an ass?”

“When’d we get married?” He shouldered past her, swinging his keys around his finger. Outside, the streetlamps flickered to life. “I’ll leave you to it. Even you can see it’s a slam dunk.”

She didn’t want to agree with him. “It’s only a suicide when the coroner says so.”

“Oh, Jo-elle.”

There was that laugh again, and she hated herself for warming to him.

“You’ve got to learn to choose your battles.”

***

Excerpt from Shadow Ridge by M.E. Browning.  Copyright 2020 by M.E. Browning. Reproduced with permission from M.E. Browning. All rights reserved.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

 M.E. Browning served twenty-two years in law enforcement and retired as a captain

 before turning to a life of crime fiction. Writing as Micki Browning, she penned the

 Agatha-nominated and award-winning Mer Cavallo mysteries, and her short stories and 

 nonfiction have appeared in anthologies, mystery and diving magazines, and textbooks. 

 As M.E. Browning, she recently began a new series of Jo Wyatt mysteries with Shadow

 Ridge (October 2020).  

 

 Micki is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and 

 Sisters in Crime—where she served as a former president of the Guppy Chapter. A

 professional divemaster, she resides in Florida with her partner in crime and a vast array

 of scuba equipment she uses for “research.” 

 

 

 Connect with the author:

 Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  BookBub



 Buy the book:

 Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

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FEATURED AUTHOR: EVY JOURNEY

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

After two heartbreaking losses, Luna wants adventure. Something and somewhere very different from the affluent, sheltered home in California and Hawaii where she grew up. An adventure in which she can also make some difference. She travels to a foreign place where she gets more than she bargained for.



Lucien, a worldly, well-traveled young architect, finds a stranger’s journal at a café. He has qualms and pangs of guilt about reading it. But they don’t stop him. His decision to go on reading changes his life.



Months later, they meet at a bookstore where Luna works and which Lucien frequents. Fascinated by his stories and his adventurous spirit, Luna volunteers for the Peace Corps. Assigned to Cambodia, she lives with a family whose parents are survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide forty years earlier. What she goes through in a rural rice-growing village defies anything she could have imagined. Will she leave this world unscathed?

An epistolary tale of courage, love and loss, and the bonds that bring diverse people together.



Book Details:


Title: The Shade Under the Mango Tree 

Author: Evy Journey
Genre: contemporary fiction 
Publisher: Sojourner Books (November 2, 2020)
Print length : 330 pages
On tour with: Pump Up Your Book

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH EVY JOURNEY

A few of your favorite things: Paris, French films, a view of San Francisco Bay, Sushi, crisp skin on roast pork, tandoori lamb, black rice pudding, macarons, steamed crabs, great bread.

Things you need to throw out: old clothes I haven’t used in ten years.


Things you need in order to write: quiet place, my laptop computer, a big glass of iced orange-flavored sparkling water, and imagination and motivation. 

Things that hamper your writing: fatigue, interesting conversations from the living area drifting into my writing space.


Things you love about writing: engaging with words, crafting a character, building a fictional life.
Things you hate about writing: agonizing over the most fitting descriptions.

Easiest thing about being a writer: writing.

Hardest thing about being a writer: promoting and marketing.


Things you love about where you live: I see SF Bay from my window; the gourmet ghetto is close by so good food is within easy reach; the multiculturality of the area; echoes of academia from a couple or so miles away.

Things that make you want to move: the chance to live in Paris.

Words that describe you: hard-working, loving, thoughtful, introspective, multicultural and multilingual, lover of art.

Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: obsessive-compulsive, skeptical, ill at ease with strangers.

Favorite foods: sushi, crisp skin on roast pork, tandoori lamb, black rice pudding, macarons, steamed crabs, great bread.

Things that make you want to throw up: chili grasshoppers.

Favorite song: Krystian Zimmerman’s rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #2.

Music that make your ears bleed: anything too loud.

Favorite smell: the scent of a Fragrant Cloud rose.

Something that makes you hold your nose: totten fish.

Something you’re really good at: procrastinating.

Something you’re really bad at: enduring grief.

Things you always put in your books: epigraphs (in almost all).

Things you never put in your books: dedication.

Favorite places you’ve been: Paris, Paris, and Florence.

Places you never want to go to again: nowhere—there was always something to like in places I’ve visited.

Favorite books: All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Books you would ban: none, though I haven’t read everything. I choose what I read carefully.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: jump into the Pacific Ocean from a small boat before I could learn to swim.

Something you chickened out from doing: ride on the back of a camel on the hot North African desert.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evy Journey, SPR (Self Publishing Review) Independent Woman Author awardee, is a writer, a wannabe artist, and a flâneuse who, wishes she lives in Paris where people have perfected the art of aimless roaming. Armed with a Ph.D., she used to research and help develop mental health programs.
She’s a writer because beautiful prose seduces her and existential angst continues to plague her despite such preoccupations having gone out of fashion. She takes occasional refuge by invoking the spirit of Jane Austen to spin tales of love, loss, and finding one’s way—stories into which she weaves mystery or intrigue.



Connect with Evy:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Book trailer

Buy the book:

Amazon 


OTHER BOOKS BY EVY JOURNEY

Between Two Worlds ( A series with three standalone books)

GUEST POST WITH SHARON C. WILLIAMS

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Jasper is no ordinary parrot. 

He lives in the rainforest, which secrets he’s eager to explore. Jasper loves his home and his family, and he's also in charge of his younger brother Willie - a responsibility Jasper takes very seriously.

When he meets Charlie - a spider monkey with a penchant for food and a laid back attitude - he realizes he’s in for an adventure he never thought possible.   Even if this means getting into danger and worrying his mother to no end.

Exploring the boundaries of the forest, Jasper understands that there is more to the world around him. Who are the strange new creatures that have come there? With Willie and Charlie by his side, he will soon find out.

Book Details
Title: Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rainforest Adventure
Author: Sharon C. Williams
Genre: children, children's interactive adventure books
Series: Jasper, Amazon Parrot, book 1
Publisher: Peculiar Possum Books - A Next Chapter Imprint; 3rd edition (July 9, 2019)
Print length: 48 pages

GUEST POST BY SHARON C. WILLIAMS 

A Day in the Life of Jasper

My Amazon Yellow Cheek Amazon parrot, Jasper, has been with us since 1999 when we rescued and adopted him at the age of five. But not only that, he has become the focal point of my chapter book series- the Jasper, Amazon parrot series.

I grew up with dogs, cats, chickens, hamsters, gerbils, fish, and white mice. But nothing prepared me for living with birds. Nothing has prepared me to live with Jasper.

So, what is a day like in the life of Jasper?

I get up roughly at 5:25 am. My husband and I leave by 6 to go for our morning walk. Hearing my footsteps, Jasper will race down his cage, across the ladder that connects to the rail, goes to the very end by the stairs, and go vertical. He will get face down, tail in the air as he waits for me.

The point of that is he is ready for his morning pat. It is required of me to pat him at least 100 times. Rule number one says so. The point of me doing this as I pat him is to check his wings, breastplate, eyes, nostrils, feet, tail, back, and overall check. Birds tend to hide their sickness. By the time you notice that they are sick, it could be too late. It is a bonding moment for us. He loves it and expects it.

"Thank you," is said when we finished.

He might say, "Hello, hello, hello."

It all depends on his mood.

After, he will race to his cage. It is time to be fed. It does not matter that I have a routine to feed my other birds. In his mind, he needs to eat first. That includes clean water and food. Rule number two is complete.

But while he is eating, Cartoon Network needs to be turned on for him to enjoy. If not, then Nat Geo or a favorite movie of his. He does enjoy watching MMA and football. I have not figured out yet why. Now, you are not to walk in front of the TV or stand in front of it. Rule number three is complete.

Once he is done eating and is back in front of the TV, he will begin to groom himself. It is necessary for birds. With him being a large bird, this can take quite a while for him to go over each feather. It takes a good portion of his time during the day, especially if it is that time of year when he is molting.

If the sun is shining through the window by his cage, he will place himself either on our kitchen table or on his circular stand to enjoy the rays and a small nap, which can vary in length.

Now I am allowed to work at the kitchen table. But with that comes my bird wanting to help me. Do I need help? No. Does it matter? No. Jasper offers it happily. Rule number four is to be a helpful bird. Even if that means walking on top of the papers to tell me hi, so be it.

If no one is at the table, no sun shining through, and the cartoons are not to his liking, Jasper will climb his stand to look out in the back yard. It could be to either fuss at the squirrels or look at anyone who he might happen to see.

It is here that Jasper has learned the different sounds of the birds outside. He can mimic half a dozen birds. Jasper has spotted so many things by just looking out the window.

His key phrase is, "Mom, look out window. Mommmmmmmm, look out window!"

I am supposed to rush to the window to see what he wants me to see. I may not always see it in time or see what he wants me to see. But rule number five says I need to look out the window.

Jasper gets healthy treats in the morning that can range from fruit, veggies, or birdie snacks.

On the day of the week where he gets his shower, that will be between his breakfast and lunch, where I will spray room temperature water in a mist for him to get a good soak so he can get a proper wash.

Now, if his dad, aka my husband, has not come down from his office at all due to work, Jasper will call upstairs in a barrage that will last from five to ten minutes in hopes his dad will come down to talk to him.

He can range to where he says,  "Hello."

Or, he will say, "Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi."

"Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,"

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

"Hi. Hi. Hi. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

He will vary.

His vocabulary is pretty good, and he has a variety of whistles and bird calls he can do. He imitates inanimate sounds well.

If dad does not come down soon enough, in his mind, he will resort to crying. And I must admit his crying is eerily similar to a baby. We have no idea how he learned that.

If a bug, which can be an ant, moth, fly, and the likes, comes near him, then he will sound the alarm. It goes like this.

"Help! Moooooom, help. Help, help, help Mom, help."

It is comical to me but not to him.

It is my job to kill the bug, show him the body to confirm the kill, and then dispose of it. I have now just completed rule number six.

Now anyone who walks by his cage, regardless of the time of day, is required by rule number seven, which is we must acknowledge him with terms of endearment and or patting. We must proclaim he is gorgeous, a good bird, a sweet bird, and no other pets compare to him. No other bird compares to him. It can go on for a while since no amount of time is ever enough for Jasper.

At lunch, Jasper will take a break from a busy morning of sun, birds, TV, eating, and grooming to come to the table for his lunch where he will have a riveting conversation with my husband about what is going on and to express any concerns he might have. Considering he looks at me and then goes on a tirade with his dad, I am sure he is talking about me. I know it.

It takes up the whole lunch hour. Usually, Jasper gets on my husband. Jasper will groom my husband, and in return, Dad pats him. Jasper could be on his shoulder all day. I believe the longest on record is four to five hours. In his mind, nothing beats sitting on his favorite person. It must happen at least twice a day. It is rule number eight.

Once my husband goes back to work, Jasper will check to see what is on TV. If it is something that we know he does not like, I will put on a movie that is a favorite of his. It could include How To Train a Dragon, Despicable Me, or something else. Those are some of his favorites.

He will proceed to repeat what he did in the morning. He will, now and then, come over so I can pat him and say hi while I work with my office being by his cage.

I am never, ever, to forget the afternoon snack.

It is in the afternoon that he will socialize with the other birds. It means he wants to have them give him their attention. The time length can vary depending on his mood that can change on a dime.
But they adore him and give him much homage.

As the day draws to a close, it will start to get dark outside the window by his cage. It requires rule number nine to happen. No darkness should ever be allowed to fall onto his cage, space, or him. Period.

If he is feeling friendly, he will climb down the rail that is by the couch in the living room and make his way onto the couch. Jasper will go to the person he loves the best, which is my husband, who has come down now that work is over.

If Dad falls asleep before Jasper, he will watch over his dad for hours to make sure he is okay and to keep him safe. Well, until 7:00 pm since that is when he goes inside his cage and settles in for the night.

There are rare occasions he stays out later or will come out again if he sees Dad stir or is awake. Jasper will need to see if my husband will pat him some more before it is time for bed.

The life of a beloved parrot is hard work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharon C. Williams is a native of New England raised in Northern Maine. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and son. A flock of rescued birds owns her.

Sharon has a B. S. degree in Chemistry and two A.S. with one being in Biology and the other, Math. She loves to read, sketch, take pictures, walk, exercise, go to the movies, and listen to music. Sharon is a budding bird watcher and knits on the side. She is a huge sports fan of baseball, basketball, hockey, football, and MMA. She is also a shutterbug and is always looking for the next big shot.

At the moment, she has five books out with six short stories in three anthologies.

Connect with Sharon:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: TAY REEM

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Boy-meets-girl and they fall madly in love. 

She is desperate to be a wife just like all her friends...and he would do anything to feel like a man.

But as soon as they wed, their innocent romance takes a shocking and horrific turn. 

Strap in for a roller coaster ride about the dark side of marriage and parenthood in this haunting poetic thriller. 

Fair warning, these tales are not for the faint of heart.

Book Details


Title: Tales of Woe


Author: Tay Reem


Genre: contemporary poetry


Publisher: Owens Publishing House (October 3, 2020)


Print length: 128 pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH TAY REEM

A few of your favorite things: my bamboo steamer for mandatory random dim sum nights with my closest friends. My first ever CD gifted to me for my 6th birthday . . . “Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears. I also still have the love letters my old high school sweetheart handwrote me that I’ll always cherish.
Things you need to throw out: I have a pair of chunky Louboutin studded boots that always declare war on my feet, they can go. My old cheerleading trophies can also go along with my giant hoop earrings.


Things you need in order to write: I prefer silence when I write and a crunchy snack.
Things that hamper your writing: my phone.


Things you love about writing: creating new worlds where nothing happens unless I write it. Getting comments and messages from my followers about how they felt reading my work.
Things you hate about writing: feeling like I am never finished finding the best way to say things.

Easiest thing about being a writer: writing.

Hardest thing about being a writer: writing well.


Things you love about where you live: it’s so quiet, there are always children laughing outside, the staff is always so helpful and there is a giant palm tree outside of my window.
Things that make you want to move: being so far away from my friends.

Favorite foods: spaghetti and meatballs, dumplings, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes . . . I’ll honestly eat pretty much anything.
Things that make you want to throw up: raisins and olives. Disgusting.    

Favorite song: “L.O.V.E” by Nat King Cole.
Music that make your ears bleed: anything with a harmonica.

Favorite beverage: Raspberry Green Tea Lemonade from Starbucks.

Something that gives you a pickle face: Kombucha. Disgusting.

Something you’re really good at: telling stories!

Something you’re really bad at: spelling. I never said I was perfect.


Something you wish you could do: I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I wish I never learned how to smoke. I don’t do it anymore, but I wish I never started. It has never helped me in life.


Last best thing you ate: mac and cheese from Catch LA. It was so good, I still dream about it.

Last thing you regret eating: an entire pack of half a dozen cupcakes. I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway

Things you always put in your books: violence.

Things you never put in your books: basic boring characters.

Favorite places you’ve been: Barbados, Naples and London because of the food, the shopping, the people and the incredible scenery.

Places you never want to go to again: Denmark. Not my favorite.

Favorite things to do: I love visiting beautiful wineries and going to tasking rooms, especially on a warm day. Watching the sunrise and the surfers in Newport Beach is something I do often. Off-roading has quickly become a new favorite activity.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: washing dishes, going to Sunday school, and ab workouts.

Things that make you happy: late 90s – early 00’s pop music, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Potbelly’s and finally achieving runners high.

Things that drive you crazy: when I’m looking for parking and think I’ve finally found a spot but it’s actually a fiat or a motorcycle parked deep into that spot making it look like it was open, so at first I’m relieved to finally stop circling the lot only to be disappointed then quickly enraged by how tiny fiats are and how annoying that its drivers always pull all the up when they park them, fooling hopefuls like myself every time.

Proudest moment: when I held the final version of my book in my hands.

Most embarrassing moment: when I got really drunk and accidently called the police on myself.

Best thing you’ve ever done: when I moved from Maryland to California.

Biggest mistake: deciding to get my doctorate. It ended up being a waste of time and money.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: move my entire life across the country because I was tired of the cold.

Something you chickened out from doing: some of my friends invited me to cliff dive, and I had to respectfully decline.

The last thing you did for the first time: I drove a speedboat for the first time not too long ago. It was the most fun I’ve had in a while.

Something you’ll never do again: I’ll never let anyone discourage me from doing anything I want to do ever again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Tay Reem was raised in a small town in Maryland. She studied psychology at Morgan State University and later earned her Master’s in the same field. After many years working as a behavioral insights analyst, she left the corporate world to pursue her dream of becoming an author instead. Inspired by her own childhood and every day human experiences, Reem channels her empathetic side as fuel for her work. Her academic background in psychology and previous job as a behavioral analyst, prepared her for a universe of complicated characters portraying the light, the grey and the dark side of humanity. Her next book is set to do just that - tell real narratives about regular people who do what any of us would do given the right circumstance.  When she’s not thinking of her next big story, you can probably find her on a hiking trail in the hills or off-roading in the desert. She currently resides in Southern California where she is hard at work on her second book.



Connect with Tay:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon 

 

FEATURED AUTHOR: FRED TIPPETT II

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Would You Date a Murder Suspect?
​


Greg Chase is a sixteen-year-old boy whose heightened deductive powers serve him well in his position as the New York Police Department’s youngest ever civilian consultant.



Forced to leave his job after his actions lead to the death of a suspect, Greg returns to school and finds himself immediately drawn to the new girl, a deviant loner named Mel Locket. Greg and Mel quickly make a connection—and build a romantic relationship—only for Greg to learn that Mel's withdrawn and mysterious exterior hides a dark secret. She might have murdered her former classmate and best friend.



Greg believes Mel innocent and takes it upon himself to prove it, but he’s in a minority. The police, Mel's therapist, and even her mother think she’s violent and unstable, capable at least of murder. They’re all right, of course. But did she really kill her old friend?

Book Details

Title: The Women in White

Author: Fred Tippett, II

Genre: YA mystery

Series: Greg Chase Mysteries

Publisher: Trinity Power Productions LLC (November 12, 2020)

Print length: 396 pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH FRED TIPPETT

Things you need in order to write: my desk and chair, either my laptop or a good pen and paper, free time, and (relatively) absolute silence.
Things that hamper your writing: loud noises, a lack of free time, and writer’s block.


Things you love about writing: the ability to build worlds, histories, and even change lives with the simple power of the page. The power to elevate others, right wrongs, or just make people think twice or think differently about the world in which we’re all living.
Things you hate about writing: definitely the revision process. A book idea is beautiful—and bearing it out on the page is often a pure exercise in catharsis. But once that’s done, any good writer (me included and especially) can expect to spend probably months revising and editing the work, killing darlings, and second-guessing the usefulness of almost every word that’s been written.

Easiest thing about being a writer: ideas for books come to me from everywhere. Everywhere. The news, day-to-day life, discussions with friends and family, things that I watch or read, and even things that I write! I already have so many ideas for future books that I really could be writing interesting stories forever, and they just keep coming.

Hardest thing about being a writer: just about everything that comes after the “ideas” part. Hahaha! An idea must be outlined—then written into a first draft. That first draft must be edited probably at least another two times (optimistically with the help of a good proofreader and/or editor the second time around) before it’s anywhere close to ready. Even once the book is ready to be published, an effective author still has tons of work to do with properly advertising it and choosing the best way to do that.


Things you love about where you live: the clean air and the relatively peaceful and quiet nature of the southern suburbs.
Things that make you want to move: I’m really not a fan of the way in which many people where I live—some even in leadership—have chosen to handle, or mishandle, the recent pandemic and the safety measures that have been prescribed to ensure everyone’s best end. This is as opposed to the better ways that the pandemic has been handled in other environments.

Favorite foods: fried salmon, savory herb cauliflower rice, chicken and wild rice soup, spicy shrimp pizza, sautéed spinach, red velvet cake.
Things that make you want to throw up: baked salmon, green beans, plain baked chicken, pineapple upside down cake.

Favorite beverage: eggnog milkshake.

Something that gives you a pickle face: grapefruit.

Favorite smell: blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup.

Something that makes you hold your nose: pork rinds.

Something you’re really good at: writing. LOL.

Something you’re really bad at: hockey in any way, shape, or form.


Something you like to do: long, quiet walks—usually in scenic parts of the cities that I visit.

Something you wish you’d never done: picked up a Netflix subscription. (I did not have it for long, but still. It really was time that I could’ve spent being far more productive than I was back then.)

Last best thing you ate: coconut pancakes with salmon croquettes.
Last thing you regret eating: oatmeal without honey.

Things you’d walk a mile for: exercise (hahaha), WiFi reception, the latest novel in my favorite series.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: bad reality television, country music.

Things you always put in your books: at least one important life lesson. It may be subtly pass-coded, but it’s there in each of my books for someone who’s willing to search it out. I tend to think that when a person reads a book—even just a fiction novel—s/he should learn something.

Things you never put in your books: an abundance of foul language. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a big fan of the style of timeless authors like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Erle Stanley Gardner. I believe that a novel can be great—classic, even—without including a noticeable amount of profanity.

Things to say to an author: “I loved your book!” 
“I can’t wait for the next one!” 
“So-and-so is my new favorite character!” 
“I feel so inspired by your work!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “You really didn’t handle such-and-such situation the way that I would have.” 
“I really think you could’ve done a better job handling so-and-so’s character arc.” 
“Your new book really doesn’t stand up to the quality of your best work.”

Favorite places you’ve been: New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Atlanta.

Places you never want to go to again: Zimbabwe, Cullman, Bryn Mawr.

Favorite things to do: endurance running, walking, biking, cooking, writing.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: vacuuming, dusting, fence setting.

Proudest moment: the day that I embraced fully the nature of my Christian faith.
Most embarrassing moment: announcing to others the name of my childhood crush.


Most daring thing you’ve ever done: braving a literal hurricane one night to go to the store and get groceries for my brother and parents.

Something you chickened out from doing: bungee jumping from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

The last thing you did for the first time: the last major one that I can recall was becoming a certified attorney almost a year ago now. I passed the Washington, D.C., bar exam and went through quite a strenuous set of trials to become a properly registered lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Something you’ll never do again: “Test” expired milk. That one’s a no-brainer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

Fred Tippett, II, is the author of the Young Adult Mystery novel The Women in White, which released on 12 November 2020. Fred currently lives in Alabama, though he is a Washington-DC-barred attorney. He holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania—and primarily uses his legal education to bolster the credibility of police procedural elements for his novels.

Connect with Fred:
Website   |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon